The National Debt Continues to Rise

On Wednesday the President addressed the nation and spoke about getting our fiscal house in order. What he should have said was that both political parties got us in this situation and it will take both political parties to get us out of the situation that the nation finds us in with massive governmental spending that is unsustainable.

The past eight years the Bush Administration and Republicans spent the period with little regard to fiscal disciple and abandoned their core beliefs of reducing government spending. The Obama Administration chastises the previous administration every chance it gets, but it has been reckless and with little regard to any semblance of fiscal responsibility continues to add to the spiraling national debt.

The stimulus package was an $800 billion monstrosity that was a give away to congressional Democrats and only benefited groups aligned with them and left the taxpayers in the cold. The president’s signature issue, health care reform is now a trillion dollar boondoggle that will only send the deficit to astronomical heights.

The time is now to reign in governmental spending! Too often we look at it as a revenue issue and that more taxes are needed to close the gap, but unfortunately this misses the point. The fact of the matter the nation needs a major overhaul on how the country spends it revenue. Washington always wants to exempt agencies or department, but to gain control over spending every department and agency has to be included.

Currently the nation is involved in two wars and correctly the President placed the cost of the wars into the Defense Authorization Bill instead of as a supplementary spending item. The 2010 Defense Bill signed last year was $660 billion dollars, but if you remove the cost of the wars you are still at about $525 billion dollars; has anybody looked at what is in this defense budget?

Every phase of government spending needs to be looked at and different procedures need to be in place that brings real reform to the budget process. The real culprits are politicians from both parties who only ability they know is to spend the taxpayer’s money!

If we don’t get a handle on this the nation’s economic future will be in doubt!

President Addresses the Nation During State of the Union Address

Last night the President spoke to the nation on the state of the union and his response to the many challenges faced by America. Again the president couldn’t help but put in a few more jabs at the condition of the country when he took over and how the stimulus package passed last year helped the nation avoid the brink of another Great Depression.

This administration still believes the stimulus package worked, then why during the same speech he pressed Congress for a jobs bill, but didn’t specify what was to be included and what should be in it. I thought the stimulus bill was supposed to jump start the economy and keep unemployment at no higher than eight percent?

The president is equally guilty as the previous administration in expanding the national debt. The stimulus package was a give away to Democratic causes and had little or no real impact on stimulating the economy. No matter how often he cites the success we can find equal examples how the numbers cited by this administration just don’t had up.

This administration has increased governmental spending by over $1.7 trillion in just one year and the rate keeps continuing. Both Republicans and Democrats have contributed to the fiscal mess the nation finds itself in, and now they are pointing fingers at each other when they should look at themselves as contributing to the problem.

If the president truly wants to reduce the federal debt then all departments and agencies in the federal government need to be held accountable for irresponsible spending. This includes entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

It’s time for the government to go on a crash spending diet and soon, one just has to look at California at its fiscal mess; Washington is heading in the same direction.

President Vows to Help Middle Class

Listening to voter anger over rising federal spending and the state of the economy the president will announce curbs in federal spending and aid to the beleaguered middle class. Unfortunately the problems the president’s is facing are self inflicted. The stimulus package that passed last year was a give away to various causes popular with Democrats and did little to create the jobs the president had hoped for.

Time and time again legislation emanating from Washington had the opposite effect of stimulating the economy. Cap and Trade was an atrocious piece of legislation that only benefited the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and if implemented would have reduced jobs, as of right now its stalled in the Senate.

The president singular issue health care reform would have the nation spending billions when it can least afford it, and end up as a political albatross that had to pass the Senate by giving individual Senators key breaks costing billions just so they would vote on the measure.

If the president wants to truly create jobs then he needs to stop passing legislation that only makes the situation worse. Currently his Middle Class Task Force leader is the Vice President, who has never run a business, made payroll or have any business experience. His only experience is having spent over thirty years as a Senator, hardly the person qualified to know what businesses are going through. This president has no one in his administration with any business experience or knowledge of how things work outside of the academic world.

Washington needs to understand that eighty percent of jobs in the U.S. are with small business, you want to get America moving again then start helping small businesses across this nation. They are the ones taking the risk, they are the ones who hire other Americans, and they are the ones who will get this economy moving again.

What does Washington do, they over regulate them, they over tax them, they place mandates on them; they do everything they can to make it harder for businesses to succeed. You wonder why businesses move overseas?

Start help small business and you will help the middle class Mr. President!

Trijicon Removes Imprinted Bible Verse Numbers on Its Scopes

Trijicon, the gun sight maker who had been providing rifle sites to the military, until it was revealed recently they had been placing biblical verses on the gun sites next to the serial numbers. The company ha d contracted 800,000 sites to the military and were also used by the army and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

No matter how strongly one feels about ones faith we have to realize that we are in war of ideals and any reference to biblical verse plays into the hands of Islamic terrorists who use this as further evidence that this is a America lead crusade against Islam.

The troops engaged in the global struggle against this time extremism know that anything that we do is suspect to the people of the Arab world and already look suspiciously at us all ready, we don’t need to add fuel to an already tense climate of distrust.

Trijicon has stated they will remove all biblical markings on all rifle sites and is giving a conversion kit to the military to remove religious markings on current sites.

Everyone needs to use good judgment and not endanger our brave men and women who are serving the cause of freedom.

Scott Brown wins Massachusetts Senate Race

Last night Scott Brown stunned the nation by winning the Massachusetts Senate race formerly held by Senator Ted Kennedy who passed away last year. The stunning election sent shock waves across the nation ending the Democrats filibuster proof majority of sixty votes and places the president’s agenda in serious peril.

Scott Brown ran a disciplined race campaigning on fiscal disciple, reducing taxes, not allowing terrorists Miranda style rights, and the central focus was his insistence on being the forty first vote against the current health care reform measure now being considered by both the house and senate.

With his election victory it now has other Democrats in more moderate to conservative districts worried that independent voters who supported Democrats in both 2006 and 2008 have turned away from the policies of the Democratic Party and more important President Obama.

The very fact that he won in one of bluest states in the nation has to have Democrats quivering as the nation heads into the mid-term elections.

Right now the Republican Party is euphoric after last night’s results, but they should look deeper into why Scott Brown won and not try and over analysis this outcome.

Massachusetts voters rejected the elitist attitude of Martha Coakley who took this race for granted and the failed policies of the Democratic Party and of this administration. Republicans should take away from this race is the public is concerned with issues that impact the lives of ordinary citizens. Too often both parties are more beholden to the interests groups that support them and care very little for the average American.

Democrats won in 206 and 2008 with President Obama campaigning on the theme “Change we Can believe In” unfortunately that change led to same practices that Democrats campaigned the Republicans were guilty of.

The America people are tired of partisan politics, tired of political graft that benefit a politician or vote buying as witnessed by the health care reform bill now before congress. The American people want their concerns looked after and not corporate America or Wall Street.

Its time Washington start taking care of America!

The pivotal Massachusetts Senate Race

No matter the outcome tonight, this race never should have been close in the first place. Even if Martha Coakley wins a close race against her Republican challenger Scott Brown, this race should have Democrats across the nation worried. If they are having a tough time in a very solidly blue state like Massachusetts, then this will send shock waves across the nation.

The core to the president election last year was huge support from independent voters, and now these same voters are fleeing in from the president’s policies as over sixty percent of independent voters have stated that they are supporting Scott Brown. A sharp contrast from over a year ago, this wasn’t the change they expected or wanted!

With the mid-term elections less than ten months away and the president poll numbers now less than fifty percent, the Democrats are going to face a tough road ahead. The key will be the economy and I seriously doubt that the economy will revive by then, plus Democrats are still insisting on passing a very unpopular health care bill that the majority of Americans oppose.

Moderate to conservative Democrats should be extremely worried that if Democrats have a hard time winning or even losing in Massachusetts, then what chance will they have? The defining issue of the Massachusetts race was health care and Scott Brown repeatedly campaigned that he would be the forty first vote against health care reform. Democrats who vote for it will face the anger of voters and November will be a black day for Democrats and they have only themselves to blame.

Massachusetts Senate Election a Referendum for 2010 Mid-Term Election

The special election to fill the Senate vacancy left by the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts has turned into a Referendum for 2010 Mid-Term Election. It never intended to be this way as it should have been a slam dunk for Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley who is in a heated race with Republican state Senator Scott Brown for Ted Kennedy’s seat.

Recent polling has this race almost dead even, but in a state that has a solidly Democratic majority and one of the bluest state in the nation, it’s surprising that Scott Brown is even close. Should the unthinkable happen and Brown pull an upset it would unleash a Tsunami across the nation to all Democrats who are in moderate to conservative districts that they are in serious trouble going into the mid-term elections.

Even if Brown loses but the race is close, it still doesn’t bode well for Democratic prospects in November. Too struggle in clearly blue state with health care the number one issue makes every Democrat across the nation question how they will vote on this volatile issue.

The Republican will use this race as a huge referendum on the Obama Administration and the policies of the Democratic majority in Congress. Has I have written in the past this year every issues, every piece of legislation will have eyes on only one thing; how this plays to the voters come November.

The economy is still the single most important issue facing voters, plus no one knows how health care will play out or if the costs will be kept in check. Whatever happens this year doesn’t look bright for Democrats.

It’s still too early to know if the Democrats lose their majority in Congress, but if they do they will only have themselves to blame!

Mark McGwire Comes Clean About Steroid Allegations

Yesterday, Mark McGuire finally broke his silence regarding the use of steroids and other substances during his days as a professional baseball player with both the Oakland Athletics and St Louis Cardinals. This revelation came as no surprise, as many had suspected that he had been involved in steroids during his professional career.

Pundits are now analyzing his pronouncement of his use and its ultimate impact on his candidacy for the baseball’s Hall of Fame and how this will impact the game of baseball as he begins the 2010 baseball season as the new hitting coach for the St Louis Cardinals.

The real discussion should not only be how players used performance enhancing drugs to recover faster from an injury and to gain competitive advantage by using substances they altered the playing field over players who didn’t partake, but we should discuss the larger aspect of dishonesty in this country.

There is systematic problem with the culture of America today! We are shocked when the financial markets collapsed at the end of 2008, then learned that greed and dishonesty were rewarded as long as it brought financial gain; is this any different than what transpired during the “Steroid Era” of Baseball?

We are witnessing cheating at all levels of American society and then we wonder why cheating occurs on Wall Street and in Washington! We condone it when are children are allowed to be dishonest, by justifying their actions with flimsy excuse’s. These same children eventually end up in Washington and in Wall Street but at a far higher level and the consequences are felt by all and the most effected were the ones who played by the rules.

We should not be surprised what transpired during the “Steroid Era” of baseball, it’s just that we are all guilty of tolerating a culture that permeates at throughout our society. It’s time to return to honesty and hard work of the past and we should wish for the day’s when are children can look up to hero’s such as Cal Ripken instead of those who tarnished the legacy of baseball no matter how they justify it!

Racism Reemerges in Washington

There seems to be a double standard when it comes to racism in this country, as was evident this weekend when it was revealed that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid commented to the authors of “Game Change” describing candidate Obama in 2008 as “light skinned with no negro dialect unless he wants one.”

Democrats to easily accept the apology from Senator Reid and calls for his stepping down from his Senate leadership post went unheeded, but this wasn’t the case when Senator Trent Lott made unfortunate remarks during a birthday party for Senator Strom Thurmond in 2002.

The outcry was vicious and relentless eventually forced Senator Lott to give up his Senate leadership post, but with members of their own party makes a racial statement the tune is remarkably different.

If we are truly going to have a color blind society then we need to condemn the statements and actions of all who utter racist or engage in racism. Racism still exists until everyone condemns its ugly emergence no matter who utters its vile words or actions.

There should be no allowance or tolerance and should not be dismissed as a misstatement by one but then be outraged by another. To end racism we all must be speak out against its debauchery and can never be condoned or allow us to wallow in the muck of racism.

The 2010 Mid-Term Election

The nation is facing daunting challenges and what do we get from our elected leaders more partisanship and more squabbling then actually fixing the nations woes. All these politicians care about is what will happen in November and what will happen to their own political skin. Neither political party seems to even show the slightest concern for the plight of average Americans!

Now is the time for the people to take back their country from the financial ruin inflicted by both Democrats and Republicans! To do this Americans have to start taking responsibilities for themselves and start holding Washington accountable for their actions.

This means not falling victim to slick campaign slogans and understanding the issues before the nation. Too often people listen to what they want to hear, instead of asking tough questions or finding out the information on their own.

Everyone has opinions on the Tiger Woods scandal, but have anyone express and intelligent thought about health care reform, economic issues, or any other issue and all you get is a blank stare. We need to understand what is going on in our own country and press our leaders to solve these pressing issues.

Too often we fall victim to slick commercials that give half truths and innuendoes then about the real facts. We need to make sure that we press our leaders on how they will tackle these problems, and not be gullible when we know that the numbers don’t add up.

If we want our country back it is up to us to force Washington to stop wallowing in the muck of partisanship and start taking care of the nations business!

Terrorism Comes To America

The recent terrorist attack to bring down a commercial airliner has brought terrorism again to the forefront of American thought after months of everyone focusing on domestic issues. Unfortunately politicians of both parties are using this to score political point s as the nation prepares for the pivotal mid-term elections in November.

Democrats keep bringing up mistakes that the Bush Administration has made in the fight against global terrorism in particular holding terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay. They wrongly believe that keeping Guantanamo Bay open serves as a recruiting tool for jidahist in their propaganda against America. This fails to comprehend or shows a total lack of understanding of terrorism against this country.

Republican have to stop looking at the situation by trying to score political points against the Obama Administrations lack of commitment to national security and keeping this country safe from terrorism. Criticizing the president on substantial policy issues is fair game, but please leave partisan politics behind it only cheapens the process and does nothing to enhance the security of this nation.

Both Republican and Democrats need to focus on how the security breach happened in the first place! How did intelligence information know of an impending attack but not shared with other agencies? What about current policy of releasing detainees back to their home country who then rejoin jidahist movements need to be re-examined closely? All issues that allowed this individual on that aircraft need close scrutiny!

Home Land Security operational procedure also need to adjusted or re-examined as not to place Americans in jeopardy. Often political correctness that takes into account privacy issues over security issues need to be examined thoroughly. Israel has one of the safest airports in the world, with a record of not having a terrorist attack on any of its national air lines in decades. We need to look how they operate and incorporate into our own security measures.

The nation needs less partisanship and more cooperation between agencies and more individuals taking responsibility for what could have been a disastrous Christmas!

The War on Terror

The recent terror attack by Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to bring down Detroit bound Norhtwest Flight 253 should serve as a wakeup call to the nation, but should be no surprise to anyone who follows the Al Qaida terrorist network.

The threats faced by America in the post Cold War era are varied and complex that are going to need different and more complex approaches than what the nation experienced in the past.

America has to wake up to the fact that Al Qaida functions and establishes itself in failed or potential failed states. The training received by Umar Farok Abdulmutallab in Yemen is no coincidence as Al Qaida establishes training camps and safe haven in countries that have minimal functioning central government or none at all.

The attacks launched at America on September 11th,^, emanated in Afghanistan a nation that had gone through twenty years of civil war and had no functioning central government. U.S. forces entered Afghanistan shortly thereafter and forced Taliban and its allies into neighboring Pakistan border region which essentially Pakistan government has minimal control.

Other regions that meet the criteria of failed or potentially failed state actively have Al Qaida cells currently operating are Somalia and Yemen which the United States has faced with disastrous results with American involvement in Somalia in the early ninety’s and the attack on the U.S.S Cole in October 2000.

The latest attack with the terrorist receiving Al Qaida training in Yemen a potential failed state as the leader Ali Abdullah Saleh who is more concerned with he and his family well being and completely ignoring the plight of his people. Al Qaida thrives in such conditions by appealing to disenfranchised segment of the population therefore enabling training camps and other cells to operate freely.

In the past the United States has focused using a conventional approached as was used with the attack on a terrorist target in Yemen in 2002. The Bush and Obama Administration fail to realize that this approach doesn’t work; by funneling monetary contributions to a corrupted government who only wants our dollars instead of concentrating efforts in forcing the government of Yemen to institute a comprehensive counterinsurgency effort on the people.

America’s national security apparatus is still engrained in the Cold War and not reflecting the current dynamics of a post Cold War Era whose threats to the nation will come from failed or potential failed states. The nation has to align all elements of national power into concentrated efforts and end the turf battles that will only strengthen our adversaries.

2010 and Mid-Term Elections

The issues that plagued the nation last year are still with us as we begin the New Year, the only difference those same issues will be under the guise of Novembers mid-term election. How the nation responds to high unemployment, health care, financial bailouts, the economy, and terrorism all will be under the scrutiny of how this plays out in November.

Democrats are worried that voters will hold them responsible for the state of the economy no matter how hard they try to blame the Bush Administration for the financial situation they inherited. They will have to answer for passage of the stimulus package, bailouts to financial institutions and the auto industry, health care reform with its effect on average Americans, and finally huge increase in the national debt.

Republicans haven’t gained traction as better stewards on fiscal responsibilities as the American people remember all too well they were irresponsible in regard to the national debt when they were in control of national levers of power.

The American people are going to have to open their eyes and not listen to slick campaign slogans or wallow in the mud of partisan politics of the paste. The country has serious economic issues that need to be addressed and not burden future generations with unfunded mandates.

Before health care reform is past serious discussions is essential that costs are analyzed before passage, as the nation can’t afford another entitlement program that is not properly paid for.

The election in November is crucial to fiscal stability of the nation and Americans better understand who and what they are voting for. Too often in the past when ballots are submitted emotions seem to overrule logic, this time we can’t make a mistake!

Both political parties have to understand that partisan politics are not going to win an election, the issue on American minds will be; the economy!

Republicans and Democrats better listen!

New Year Same Problems

A new year was ushered in, but the same problem persists; high unemployment and massive governmental spending that continues to see the explosion of the national debt. 2010 will be a very contentious and polarizing year as everything that emanates from Washington will have repercussions on the mid-term elections.

Health care will pass, but its ramifications will not be felt until November, when the American people will have their say on this major piece of legislation. The president will not be on the ballot but his policies will be and many moderate and conservative Democrats will be facing the wrath of voters.

This could be a very difficult year for the president and Democrats! If the economy doesn’t start to revive, meaning the bleeding of job loss will have to end, then the Democrats are in serious trouble. They can use the excuse that we inherited this mess from the past administration, but that won’t work as they came into office with high expectations, a huge majority in Congress and promising they would deliver.

Republicans to be successful in the mid-term elections need to stop focusing on social issues and focus on one simple topic; the economy! If Washington would just listen, more Americans are more concerned with the economy than anything else.

The American people have spoken they want answers to solving America’s financial mess, more government bailouts isn’t the answer. They have seen Wall Street and Corporate America get bailed out, while they lose their jobs and their home.

This will be tough road for any incumbent, but the economy will be the number one issue this year everything else will be second fiddle.